Vintage Depots

By Dan Minkus

LaSalle Street Station in Chicago

This installment offers a number of postcard views of LaSalle Street Station in
Chicago, taken between 1904 and the early 1930's.

The LaSalle St. Station in the postcards and in Craig's pictures is really
the third station built on the site. It was started in 1901 and completed in 1904 (I believe). The station was jointly owned by its two major
tenants: Rock Island and NYC subsidiary Lake Shore & Michigan Southern.
LS&MS was the corporate entity owning NYC's line between Buffalo and Chicago. Nickel Plate was a tenant of LaSalle street but never an owner. A
joint employee timetable was issued that covered the line between Englewood and the station.

Rock Island's coach yard was just south of the depot and was later used for
intermodal. NYC's coach yard was a few miles south of the depot at Root Street, in what would become a 'depressed' area. The yard was torn up after
PC moved all passenger trains to Union Station.

The train shed as shown only lasted until 1934, when it was replaced by two smaller spans.

As an aside, NYC was the only major Chicago railroad that utilized two depots. As stated above, LS&MS trains, which were all the New York,
Buffalo and Cleveland trains, terminated at LaSalle St. Michigan Central and Big 4 trains terminated at
Central Station, utilizing trackage rights over IC.